Hilltop
Park
Before they were
Yankees, they were Highlanders. Playing on the upper west side
of Manhattan, the transplanted Baltimore Orioles found their new
home in New York. The postcard pictured above highlights the view
of the Hudson River, and the surrounding neighborhood's lack of
urban sprawl in the early 1900's.
The main entrance
gate on Broadway. As was typical of ballparks at the time, the
stands are constructed of timber, as can be clearly seen in the
photograph above, and therefore; did not bode well for a long
ballpark life expectancy.
Hilltop Park,
as depicted by William Feldman, in his 1989 lithograph, "Highlanders
at Hilltop", was based upon an actual in game photograph,
which were rare at the time. As can be seen, the outfield fence
was covered in advertisements, (though not too much in centerfield,
possibly a precursor to the hitters backdrop of today?). The large
building prominent in the lithograph is a NYC public school that
is still in use today.
Looking north
on Broadway. The building beyond the right field fence (which
appears to be three buildings) is still standing today. Otherwise,
everything else in the photograph has faded into history.
There are no
visual remains of the ballpark, as the property was sold when
the Yankees moved into the Polo Grounds. It wasn't until the last
decade of the 20th century that a marker was placed remembering
the ballpark from the first decade of the century. The marker
is in a small park / hospital courtyard shaded by some trees.
Copyright 2000
- 2004 ebaseballparks. Reproduction in whole or in part without
permission is prohibited. All rights reserved. Major League Baseball
team logos property of their respective teams. "Highlanders
at Hilltop" property of Bill Goff Inc.